Paternity Test
by Steph-Schell
Summary: Miles and Rachel have a secret about Charlie


Charlie knew she shouldn't' have been snooping but it was not to when her uncle was being so loud. So she snuck closer to the alcove where her mother had gone off with Miles some time ago. "Damn it, Rachel, we have a deal."

"No," Rachel argued, "you and Ben had a deal. Ben is dead."

Charlie watched as Miles grabbed her mother. She tensed to jump in if her mother was in danger but Miles just kept a tight grip. "Don't you dare," he warned in a dark voice.

"You don't think she deserves to know?" Rachel insisted.

"No, that's why I made the deal with you two."

"She has a right."

"She really doesn't it."

Rachel tilted her head. "What are you so afraid of?'

"Damn it, you know _exactly_ what I'm afraid of. Now keep your trap shut or I swear to god…"

Rachel's smiled bitterly. "You don't scare me anymore," she said quietly.

Miles swallowed his anger as best he could. "Do. Not. Tell. Her." With that he released Rachel and stalked away. Rachel rubbed her arm as she watched him leave. Eventually she left as well.

Charlie didn't' know what to do with the scene she had just witnessed. Clearly her mom and Miles had a secret they didn't want Charlie to know. Or at least Miles didn't want her to know. Her mother seemed okay with telling her this secret. But what could it possibly be? And how was her father involved? A part of Charlie knew she should leave it alone. She had never seen Miles that angry and it scared her. But the larger part of Charlie, the part that had always gotten her in trouble back home, was dying to know what was going on.

She couldn't keep the thoughts out of her head. Eventually she reached the only possible conclusion. She was Miles' daughter. Miles must have had a fling with her mom when they were younger and Charlie came out. It made so much sense when she thought about it. Charlie wondered how her dad reacted when he found out. Maybe that's why he hadn't told Charlie about her uncle after the Blackout. He was probably still pissed about what happened. That didn't matter now. What mattered was getting everyone on the same page.

Charlie probably should have kept her revelation to herself but she hated the tension in their camp. So that night she waited until her mother and Miles were the only two left awake. "I'm your daughter," she told Miles. Why beat around the bush when it was obvious?

Miles nearly choked on his drink. His eyes grew dark with fury as he whipped to Rachel. "You," he growled.

"It's not her fault," Charlie cut in. "I heard your argument from earlier and I figured it out for myself."

"Exactly how much did you hear?" Rachel asked quietly.

"Just the tail end," Charlie admitted. "But it was enough to figure it out. You and Miles had some sort of…of fling and that how I came about." She offered them an awkward smile. "It's okay. I'm getting used to the fact."

Rachel shook her head. "That's…" she glanced at Miles. "That's not the whole story Charlie."

"Yes it is," Miles snapped.

"She has half the information," Rachel countered. "She might as well know it all."

"No."

"Miles, be reasonable."

"Don't you dare say a word."

"Miles, stop this. You're being childish. This has been a secret for too long. We might as well just get it all out in the open."

"You have no idea how much I don't want to be doing this."

"I don't think it's your decision anymore."

Miles rubbed his forehead. "Fine," he snapped. "Since I apparently lost all say in this anyway, let's just get it the hell over with."

Rachel turned to Charlie. "There's no easy way to say this but you've only got half the picture, Charlie."

"But it's pretty obvious," Charlie replied. "You're my mom and Miles is my dad. And I told you, it's okay. It'll take me some time to get fully used to this but it's okay." She ran a hand through her hair. "Dad probably freaked when you told him. When did you tell him?'

"Charlie, you need to listen," Rachel insisted. "Miles is your father. But I'm not your mother."

Charlie frowned. "What? But that's not possible."

"It's very possible," Rachel replied. She glanced at Miles. "And I think it's time to turn this over to your father."

"Use that phrase again and I will cut out your tongue," Miles retorted.

Rachel gave him a serene smile. "Your daughter is waiting."

"What does she mean?" Charlie asked.

"She means your mother's name was Samantha," Miles replied, looking determinedly at the campfire. "I met her on leave and we…had a thing. Then I left for deployment. When I came back, there was a baby waiting for me. I was 18, Charlie. I had no idea how to handle a kid. So I called up your dad and signed over full custody." He turned a heated glare towards her and Rachel. "And you were never supposed to know."

"Never?" Charlie repeated.

"Miles even went so far as to get a gag order in court and have the records sealed," Rachel nodded. "We couldn't have told you even if we wanted to. Before the Blackout anyway."

Charlie stared at Miles as though she was seeing him in a whole new light. And she was. "You were never going to tell me?" she whispered. "Never?"

"Charlie, think about all the things I've done since the Blackout. Do you really want to be a part of them? Because you are now. And there's no going back from that." Having said his piece, Miles stalked off to his bedroll. Charlie looked to her mother.

"Will he come around?'

Rachel shrugged. "Hard to say. It is Miles after all." She rested her head on her arms. "I think he will though. He's not the scared kid that showed up on our doorstep with a screaming infant. He's changed. And you helped changed him."

Charlie nodded slowly. "It's…weird," she said after a pause. "It's like everything I knew was a lie."

"Not really," Rachel said. "It's true that your dad and I weren't your real parents but that doesn't mean we loved you any less. You were our daughter, Charlie. We really believed that. It's just that now you're Miles' daughter too."

Charlie moved so she could lean against her mother. "How do we get through this?"

"If I knew that…" Rachel sighed. "Charlie, you have to realize that no one has all the answers here. Not me, not Miles, no one. We're all just making it up as we go along." She smiled at her daughter. "But it helps to have family with you."

Charlie hugged her mother. There were a lot things that she was still angry about and a lot things that still left her confused. But for right now, none of them really mattered.


End file.
